The game had already exceeded Adyr's expectations. The technology behind it was beyond anything he had ever seen—everything felt so real, every sensation almost indistinguishable from reality itself.
But what entertained him the most was the feeling of discovery, like a child rediscovering the world for the first time.
Collect the purple crystals. They're important, he noted, mentally pinning a new reminder in the task room of his memory palace. With that, he continued forward through the dim corridors of the cave.
It wasn't long before he encountered another skeleton along the path. This time, knowing the skeleton's senses were dull and its movements slow, Adyr didn't bother sneaking. Instead, he sprinted straight at it, spear in hand.
The skeleton noticed him, but before it could even lift its broken, rusted sword, Adyr's spear drove straight through its skull, shattering it and dropping the creature in an instant.
The increase in his [Physique] stat was immediately evident.
No system message appeared this time. Apparently, the system hadn't detected anything worthy of talent recognition, but Adyr didn't particularly care. If he needed to, he still had plenty of talents he hadn't yet revealed to the system.
Just as he had with the previous skeleton, he began searching the remains. The broken sword was in even worse condition than his spear, so he ignored it.
Finding nothing else of use, he quickly searched for the purple crystal—and found it embedded once again inside the skull.
[You have consumed an Energy Crystal (Lv.1). Your Energy has increased by 0.1.]
[Energy]: 7.1 / 11 → 7.2 / 11
After experiencing the same strange rush of energy, Adyr checked his status panel. At this pace, he calculated, he would need to hunt down another 28 skeletons to gather enough energy to register a Level 2 talent.
But the cave was vast, and the battery of his game helmet was steadily draining. He also didn't want to rush blindly—there could easily be stronger creatures lurking deeper inside, or even hidden traps waiting for the careless. Caution and preparation had always been part of his philosophy.
Maintaining a steady pace, Adyr wandered through the rotting corridors for what he estimated to be nearly two hours.
Relying on his senses, he moved carefully, eliminating every skeleton he encountered as quickly and efficiently as possible.
He wasn't sure whether to call it luck or misfortune, but throughout that time, he hadn't encountered a single trap, a stronger enemy, or even a different type of creature.
It was just the same goblin-like skeletons over and over again.
By the time the repetition began to numb his mind, killing the already dead on repeat, he finally stopped to check his energy.
[Energy]: 9.9 / 11
In total, he had killed 27 more skeletons, and now, he was just one kill away from reaching the 10 [Energy] he needed to register his next advancement.
While searching for his next prey, Adyr stepped into a wider corridor. This passage was different from the rough stone corridors he had seen so far. It was clear that an intelligent hand had shaped this place.
On both sides of the hallway, rows of small rooms stretched into the distance, each one sealed off by iron bars. It didn't take long for Adyr to realize he had entered a prison block.
He moved forward carefully, curiosity and caution guiding his steps as he glanced into each cell one by one. Most were empty, aside from layers of filth and thick spiderwebs. Some cell doors were still locked, while others hung open.
Just as Adyr was about to conclude that this was nothing more than an abandoned, forgotten underground prison, he spotted something.
In one of the locked cells, lying curled up in the middle of the filthy floor, was a small figure.
It was a young girl, small and frail, dressed in what must have once been a beautiful white outfit, now torn, dirtied, and stained.
Her long, tangled blonde hair was spread across the dusty ground, her back turned toward him, her knees drawn up against her chest in a protective, fetal position.
He observed carefully and noticed the faint rise and fall of her shoulders—she was breathing.
Alive.
A prisoner? Adyr thought, but the idea didn't sit right with him.
This place didn't look like somewhere where prisoners would be kept. It was old, abandoned, and filled with nothing but mindless skeletons—creatures barely capable of basic movement, let alone organized captivity.
Given that, Adyr decided not to rush. Instead of making any noise that might alert the girl—or anything else nearby—he chose to stay silent and study the scene further, determined to gather as much information as possible before acting.
Fresh footprints... coming from the opposite side of the corridor.
Small. Light. Hers.
Rushed. Panicked.
Running from something—or someone.
The steps are uneven. Pauses here and there. Not tactical—just collapsing from exhaustion.
Her legs give out more than once. She falls. But every time, she forces herself back up.
Final steps... staggering. Barely holding together.
She stumbles into the cell, pulls the door shut—a move born of pure desperation.
No strategy. No plan. Just survival instinct.
Adyr stopped in front of the closed cell door, hand resting lightly on the rusted bars.
The door didn't just shut. It locked—or rust-welded itself shut.
Trapped.
Two days, maybe three. No food. No way out.
Waiting. Fading.
"Hey," Adyr called out softly, watching the slight tremble in the girl's shoulders as she reacted to his voice.
Slowly, she stirred, struggling to push herself upright. She turned her head toward him, her wide eyes filled with fear, confusion, and something else. Hope.
But she wasn't the only one surprised.
The moment Adyr got a clear look at her face, he felt a flicker of shock himself. She wasn't a little girl, not like he had assumed.
Her features were more refined, resembling those of a young woman, probably somewhere in her twenties. And she wasn't entirely human either.
Her ears were slightly elongated and tapered to a point, her nose was small and delicate, and her large, ice-blue eyes gave her the look of a porcelain doll—fragile, otherworldly.
She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it again, like she had forgotten how to form the words.
Adyr didn't interrupt. He simply waited, patient and still.
Her lips quivered. She tried once more.
"You..." she finally whispered, her voice fragile and uncertain. "You look tall."
Another jolt of shock ran through Adyr— but it wasn't because of how sweet her voice sounded, or how absurd her choice of words was.
It was the language she spoke.
A language that, as far as Adyr knew, had never existed in the history of the world he had been reincarnated into.